Fall 2009

Our vision for the future of retail health care

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. (BCBSF) vision of retail health is focused on partnering with individual consumers to help them make the best health and financial choices for themselves and their families. We are committed to being the leading consumer-oriented health care company in Florida. "Our goal is to create a completely new consumer experience to provide the trusted advice and guidance that our members have come to rely on. This innovative concept will allow members to take more control over their health care through one-on-one consulting services and education," said Craig Thomas, vice president and chief marketing officer. "It will allow us to bond with our members as true health care partners to help simplify the system and control their personal costs."

BCBSF is unveiling a series of programs and services based on consumer feedback. Last year, BCBSF began promotion of The Power of the Human Voice. Through that campaign, we gained valuable insight into the services and capabilities that consumers want. As a company, we believe we play a unique role in the health and well-being of Floridians. Giving voice to consumers—and really listening to them—offered us an opportunity to respond with more affordable, innovative products and services that more closely fit their lives and budgets. What's more, it enabled us to honor our commitment to continue to develop solutions that members can rely on for their unique health care coverage needs.

Our Blueprint for Health^® programs and services are a great response. Included in this initiative are online tools, new worksite health clinic, pre-paid health cards and retail centers.

Online Tools

Whether a member is already healthy and they want to stay that way, feeling under the weather, has a chronic condition they want to get better control of or is experiencing a health care crisis they didn't see coming, BCBSF offers many free resources – on the web, over the phone or in person. "Members are having an increasingly difficult time understanding the growing complexities of the health care system," says Diane Kelley, vice president, Contact Process. "In addition, the prevalence of plans with higher cost sharing places greater responsibility and choice in the hands of the members as a consumer of health care. For many of our members, this is a new experience and they need information and resources to choose well."

MyBlueService, our self-service website for BCBSF members, is continuously being updated to provide more helpful and easily accessible information to your patients. By using MyBlueService, and everything it offers, BCBSF members will become more empowered to take control of their overall health, including their health costs and outcomes. Benefits information is just a click away, so if members have any questions about their coverage, they can get their answers 24/7. MyBlueService offers members more than just health plan information. Much of what it offers is personalized to the individual to make it even more valuable.

Some examples include:

• The member's network now automatically populates the provider directory so there's no confusion about whether a provider is participating.
• A pharmacy price comparison shopping tool links to other drug-related information including requirements for prior authorization, quantity limitations and step therapies where indicated – all based on what drug the member chooses.
• Health management program is a personalized actionable plan recommended based on a member's personal health assessment results.

MyBlueService is more than an information site; it is an important tool for managing personal health information. Members can organize all their health-related documents into a single secure location. They can permit their physicians and care providers to access their Personal Health Record (PHR) when appropriate. Members can save time completing new patient paperwork by printing their PHR and taking it with them to their doctor visits. This ensures consistent and complete data without the challenge of remembering dates and services.

BCBSF recently added Lifestyle Improvement Programs to our suite of WebMD tools available through MyBlueService. The Lifestyle Improvement Programs provide a personalized, engaging and highly interactive way for members to address and improve their risk factors at their own pace by providing information, planners, tips and tools in the key areas of emotional health, exercise, nutrition, smoking cessation, stress management and weight management.

Our Care Consultant Team (CCT) offers members truly personalized service by understanding their treatment options and comparing the cost and quality of care – whether it be a simple prescription or something much more complicated. The CCT uses tools like the pharmacy comparison shopping tool and Care Comparison.

Earlier this year, we introduced Care Comparison, a new transparency-related tool to assist our members as they navigate through the health care delivery system. Care Comparison is designed to allow members to evaluate the total estimated cost of approximately 40 specific medical procedures (bundles) performed at hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers or imaging centers. For more detailed information about Care Comparison see the article in this issue.

Worksite Health Clinic

Another component of Blueprint for Health is BCBSF's own worksite health clinic which opened the end of June 2009 and focuses on prevention and intervention. The first clinic – a pilot – is available to BCBSF employees located at or traveling to the Jacksonville, Florida-based home office. It offers low cost, high quality health care for minor illnesses and enables our employees to adopt healthy behaviors through in-person support, incentives and lifestyle improvement programs.

Pre-paid Health Cards

With 95% of U.S. households purchasing or receiving gift cards annually, the pre-paid health cards are an innovative way to make health insurance conveniently available at neighborhood Winn-Dixie and CVS stores in Florida. The cards will be promoted in Winn-Dixie, beginning in September, and CVS, beginning in October. To use the pre-paid health cards, consumers simply call the number on the back of the card to activate and enroll. For detailed information about Pre-paid Health Cards see the article in this issue.

Retail Centers

In 2006, we opened the first of our Florida Blue retail stores. The stores were designed to provide easier access to health care for Floridians. To improve on this concept, we are taking it a step further—now creating consumer health centers—offering decision making support and services to communities. An exciting new idea for the industry, our first center is scheduled to open in Tampa in January, 2010.

Florida Blue consumer health centers provide physicians a place to send their patients to learn more about their BCBSF health plan coverage, wellness services and, if they need it, to buy health coverage. They will provide a one-stop shop for our members where a staff of knowledgeable friendly service, medical professionals and sales associates are dedicated to helping members maximize their health plan benefits while empowering them to make smart health care decisions for themselves and their families. Florida Blue consumer health centers can relieve physicians of having to be the expert on their BCBSF patient’s health plan benefits and programs allowing them to focus on providing care.

In addition to being able to learn about and purchase insurance plans, consumers can work with our care consultants to research providers, treatment options, quality and costs. A focus will be placed on wellness and preventive care, teaching members how to utilize the tools available to them through MyBlueService. Also, members will be able to take personal health assessments and participate in educational forums. The new Florida Blue centers will have seminar areas, a health library and will be Wi-Fi enabled for public use.